Patent application title: SYSTEM FOR ATTRIBUTING GAMEPLAY CREDIT TO A PLAYER

Abstract:

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to properly and
accurately attributing gameplay to a player. Identification of a player
can be associated with the gameplay either before gameplay begins, during
the gameplay itself, or after the gameplay ends. Some embodiments use
various gathered data and metrics to accurately determine the proper
player to attribute.

Claims:

1. A player attribution system comprising:a data receiver coupled to a
gaming network and structured to detect gameplay events from the gaming
network;a gameplay accumulator coupled to the data receiver and
structured to store gameplay data; anda player attributer structured to
associate gameplay data stored in the gameplay accumulator to a player
even if the player was not identified when the gameplay data was
generated.

2. The player attribution system of claim 1 in which the player attributer
is structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when
credits on a game coupled to the gaming network equal zero.

3. The player attribution system of claim 1 in which the player attributer
is structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when
credits on a game coupled to the gaming network drop below a minimum
denomination of the game.

4. The player attribution system of claim 1 in which the player attributer
is structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when
credits on a game coupled to the gaming network drop below a minimum
denomination of the game for longer than a predetermined duration.

5. The player attribution system of claim 1 in which the gameplay
accumulator is structured to begin storing gameplay data when the player
transfers credit to a game from an identified account.

6. The player attribution system of claim 1 in which the gameplay
accumulator is structured to begin storing gameplay data when credit is
established on a game coupled to the gaming network.

7. The player attribution system of claim 1, further comprising a player
identifier.

8. The player attribution system of claim 7 in which the player identifier
includes a card reader.

9. The player attribution system of claim 8 in which the player identifier
further includes an indexed list of pre-registered players.

10. The player attribution system of claim 7 in which the player
identifier includes an RFID sensor.

11. The player attribution system of claim 7 in which the player
identifier includes a touchscreen.

12. In a gaming network in which a game has a first gaming session and a
second gaming session, an attribution system comprising:a timer
structured to measure a time period between an end of the first gaming
session and a beginning of the second gaming session;a comparator
structured to compare the time period to a predetermined period; anda
player associator structured to attribute non-identified gameplay data
from the second gaming session to an identified player of the first
gaming session dependent on an output of the comparator.

13. The attribution system of claim 12 in which the player associator is
structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when credits
on a game coupled to the gaming network equal zero.

14. The attribution system of claim 12 in which the player associator is
structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when credits
on a game coupled to the gaming network equal zero for longer than the
pre-determined period.

15. The attribution system of claim 12 in which the player associator is
structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when credits
on a game coupled to the gaming network drop below a minimum denomination
of the game.

16. The attribution system of claim 12 in which the player associator is
structured to stop associating gameplay data with the player when credits
on a game coupled to the gaming network drop below a minimum denomination
of the game for longer than a predetermined duration.

17. The attribution system of claim 12, further comprising a gameplay
accumulator structured to begin storing gameplay data when the player
transfers credit to a game from an identified account.

18. The player attribution system of claim 12, further comprising a
gameplay accumulator structured to begin storing gameplay data when
credit is established on a game coupled to the gaming network.

19. A system to attribute gameplay to a player, comprising:a player
identifier structured to read a player identification instrument
proximate a game device; anda player attributer structured to associate
gameplay to an identified player even when the player identification
instrument is no longer proximate the game device.

20. The system of claim 19, in which the player identifier includes a card
reader.

21. The system of claim 18 in which the player identifier further includes
an indexed list of pre-registered players.

22. The system of claim 19 in which the player identifier includes an RFID
sensor.

23. The system of claim 19 in which the player identifier includes a
touchscreen.

Description:

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent
application No. 60/987,293, filed Nov. 12, 2007, entitled USING A PLAYER
TRACKING SYSTEM TO IMPLEMENT A BONUS AWARD FOR A PLAYER OF AN ELECTRONIC
GAMING MACHINE, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by
reference. Additionally, this application is related to U.S.
non-provisional application Ser. No. ______, (Attorney Docket No. 1351-9)
filed on even date herewith, entitled METHODS FOR ATTRIBUTING GAMEPLAY
CREDIT TO A PLAYER, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by
reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002]The present invention relates to reward systems, and, more
particularly, to a system for attributing gameplay activity credit to a
player.

BACKGROUND

[0003]Player tracking systems allow game owners, for example, casinos, to
gather data about players using their systems. A casino incentivizes
players to use such player tracking systems by providing extra benefits
to the players, such as larger or more frequent payouts than the base
game otherwise pays, or additional benefits such as complementary play,
special triggers or features available only to identified players, free
or discounted tickets to events, entry to special events, or free/reduced
price items such as food and products, among others.

[0004]Typical player tracking systems use a player identification card,
such as a magnetic swipe card to identify the player. Before gameplay the
player inserts his/her card in the player tracking system, and removes it
after the gameplay has concluded. Gameplay between the time the card is
inserted and removed is credited to the player in the player tracking
system.

[0005]Problems arise because many players forget to retrieve their cards
from the player tracking system after they are finished playing the game.
Typically, casino employees will remove the cards from games that are not
being played. In some instances, later players will remove a card that
was present in the tracking system at a vacant machine to insert their
own card so that the new player receives credit for his/her gameplay. The
new player may place the former player's card on top of the machine, give
it to a casino employee, or simply throw the card away.

[0006]Reissuing cards to players that left them in the player tracking
system is expensive and time consuming for the casinos, as well as
frustrating for the players.

[0007]Embodiments of the invention address this and other problems in the
prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram that illustrates a gaming
device according to embodiments of the invention.

[0009]FIG. 1B is an isometric view of the gaming device illustrated in
FIG. 1A.

[0010]FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are detail diagrams of exemplary types of
gaming device according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0011]FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of networked gaming devices
according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0012]FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are timeline diagrams illustrating
operation of embodiments of the invention.

[0013]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a gaming network coupled to
various accounts according to embodiments of the invention.

[0014]FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are example screen diagrams illustrating
communication between a casino and a player.

SUMMARY

[0015]Although players frequently leave their player tracking cards in a
game, they almost never leave a game that has credits on the meter;
players either spend all the credits or cash out the credits. Embodiments
of the invention use this human behavior to help attribute gameplay to
the proper player.

[0016]In one embodiment, game activity is credited to a player if he/she
was identified at any time between the time game machine credit is
established on the game and when the credit reaches zero. In other words,
if a player is identified at any time during a gaming session, all the
gameplay credit for that session is attributed to the identified player.
In other embodiments, gameplay credit that accumulated during a time
period when no player was identified as the generator of the gameplay is
credited to a later-identified player.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017]FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate example gaming devices according to
embodiments of the invention.

[0018]Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a gaming device 10 is an electronic
gaming machine. Although an electronic gaming machine or "slot" machine
is illustrated, various other types of devices may be used to wager
monetarily based credits on a game of chance in accordance with
principles of the invention. The term "electronic gaming device" is meant
to include various devices such as electro-mechanical spinning-reel type
slot machines, video slot machines, and video poker machines, for
instance. Other gaming devices may include computer-based gaming
machines, wireless gaming devices, multi-player gaming stations, modified
personal electronic gaming devices (such as cell phones), personal
computers, server-based gaming terminals, and other similar devices.
Although embodiments of the invention will work with all of the gaming
types mentioned, for ease of illustration the present embodiments will be
described in reference to the electronic gaming machine 10 shown in FIGS.
1A and 1B.

[0019]The gaming device 10 includes a cabinet 15 housing components to
operate the gaming device 10. The cabinet 15 may include a gaming display
20, a base portion 13, a top box 18, and a player interface panel 30. The
gaming display 20 may include mechanical spinning reels (FIG. 2A), a
video display (FIGS. 2B and 2C), or a combination of both spinning reels
and a video display (not shown). The gaming cabinet 15 may also include a
credit meter 27 and a coin-in or bet meter 28. The credit meter 27 may
indicate the total number of credits remaining on the gaming device 10
that are eligible to be wagered. In some embodiments, the credit meter 27
may reflect a monetary unit, such as dollars. However, it is often
preferable to have the credit meter 27 reflect a number of `credits,`
rather than a monetary unit. The bet meter 28 may indicate the amount of
credits to be wagered on a particular game. Thus, for each game, the
player transfers the amount that he or she wants to wager from the credit
meter 27 to the bet meter 28. In some embodiments, various other meters
may be present, such as meters reflecting amounts won, amounts paid, or
the like. In embodiments where the gaming display 20 is a video monitor,
the information indicated on the credit meters may be shown on the gaming
display itself 20 (FIG. 2B).

[0020]The base portion 13 may include a lighted panel 14, a coin return
(not shown), and a gaming handle 12 operable on a partially rotating
pivot joint 11. The game handle 12 is traditionally included on
mechanical spinning-reel games, where the handle may be pulled toward a
player to initiate the spinning of reels 22 after placement of a wager.
The top box 18 may include a lighted panel 17, a video display (such as
an LCD monitor), a mechanical bonus device (not shown), and a candle
light indicator 19. The player interface panel 30 may include various
devices so that a player can interact with the gaming device 10.

[0021]The player interface panel 30 may include one or more game buttons
32 that can be actuated by the player to cause the gaming device 10 to
perform a specific action. For example, some of the game buttons 32 may
cause the gaming device 10 to bet a credit to be wagered during the next
game, change the number of lines being played on a multi-line game, cash
out the credits remaining on the gaming device (as indicated on the
credit meter 27), or request assistance from casino personnel, such as by
lighting the candle 19. In addition, the player interface panel 30 may
include one or more game actuating buttons 33. The game actuating buttons
33 may initiate a game with a pre-specified amount of credits. On some
gaming devices 10 a "Max Bet" game actuating button 33 may be included
that places the maximum credit wager on a game and initiates the game.
The player interface panel 30 may further include a bill acceptor 37 and
a ticket printer 38. The bill acceptor 37 may accept and validate paper
money or previously printed tickets with a credit balance. The ticket
printer 38 may print out tickets reflecting the balance of the credits
that remain on the gaming device 10 when a player cashes out by pressing
one of the game buttons 32 programmed to cause a `cashout.` These tickets
may be inserted into other gaming machines or redeemed at a cashier
station or kiosk for cash.

[0022]The gaming device 10 may also include one or more speakers 26 to
transmit auditory information or sounds to the player. The auditory
information may include specific sounds associated with particular events
that occur during game play on the gaming device 10. For example, a
particularly festive sound may be played during a large win or when a
bonus is triggered. The speakers 26 may also transmit "attract" sounds to
entice nearby players when the game is not currently being played.

[0023]The gaming device 10 may further include a secondary display 25.
This secondary display 25 may be a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), a
liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma screen,
or the like. The secondary display 25 may show ancillary information to
the player. For example, the secondary display 25 may show player
tracking information, secondary bonus information, advertisements, or
player selectable game options.

[0024]The gaming device 10 includes a microprocessor 40 that controls
operation of the gaming device 10. If the gaming device 10 is a
standalone gaming device, the microprocessor 40 may control virtually all
of the operations of the gaming devices and attached equipment, such as
operating game logic stored in memory (not shown) as firmware,
controlling the display 20 to represent the outcome of a game,
communicate with the other peripheral devices (such as the bill acceptor
37), and orchestrating the lighting and sound emanating from the gaming
device 10. In other embodiments where the gaming device 10 is coupled to
a network 50, as described below, the microprocessor 40 may have
different tasks depending on the setup and function of the gaming device.
For example, the microprocessor 40 may be responsible for running the
base game of the gaming device and executing instructions received over
the network 50 from a bonus server or player tracking server. In a
server-based gaming setup, the microprocessor 40 may act as a terminal to
execute instructions from a remote server that is running game play on
the gaming device.

[0025]The microprocessor 40 may be coupled to a machine communication
interface (MCI) 42 that connects the gaming device 10 to a gaming network
50. The MCI 42 may be coupled to the microprocessor 40 through a serial
connection, a parallel connection, an optical connection, or in some
cases a wireless connection. The gaming device 10 may include memory 41
(MEM), such as a random access memory (RAM), coupled to the
microprocessor 40 and which can be used to store gaming information, such
as storing total coin-in statistics about a present or past gaming
session, which can be communicated to a remote server or database through
the MCI 42. The MCI 42 may also facilitate communication between the
network 50 and the secondary display 25 or a player tracking unit 45
housed in the gaming cabinet 15.

[0026]The player tracking unit 45 may include an identification device 46
and one or more buttons 47 associated with the player tracking unit 45.
The identification device 46 serves to identify a player, by, for
example, reading a player-tracking device, such as a player tracking card
66 that is issued by the casino to individual players who choose to have
such a card. The identification device 46 may instead, or additionally,
identify players through other methods. Player tracking systems using
player tracking cards and card readers 46 are known in the art. Briefly
summarizing such a system, a player registers with the casino prior to
commencing gaming. The casino issues a unique player-tracking card to the
player and opens a corresponding player account that is stored on a
server or host computer, described below with reference to FIG. 3. The
player account may include the player's name and mailing address and
other information of interest to the casino in connection with marketing
efforts. Prior to playing one of the gaming devices in the casino, the
player inserts the player tracking card into the identification device 46
thus permitting the casino to track player activity, such as amounts
wagered, credits won, and rate of play.

[0027]To induce the player to use the card and be an identified player,
the casino may award each player points proportional to the money or
credits wagered by the player. Players typically accrue points at a rate
related to the amount wagered, although other factors may cause the
casino to award the player various amounts. The points may be displayed
on the secondary display 25 or using other methods. In conventional
player tracking systems, the player may take his or her card to a special
desk in the casino where a casino employee scans the card to determine
how many accrued points are in the player's account. The player may
redeem points for selected merchandise, meals in casino restaurants, or
the like, which each have assigned point values. In some player tracking
systems, the player may use the secondary display 25 to access their
player tracking account, such as to check a total number of points,
redeem points for various services, make changes to their account, or
download promotional credits to the gaming device 10. In other
embodiments, the identification device 46 may read other identifying
cards (such as driver licenses, credit cards, etc.) to identify a player
and match them to a corresponding player tracking account. Although FIG.
1A shows the player tracking unit 45 with a card reader as the
identification device 46, other embodiments may include a player tracking
unit 45 with a biometric scanner, PIN code acceptor, or other methods of
identifying a player to pair the player with their player tracking
account.

[0028]During typical play on a gaming device 10, a player plays a game by
placing a wager and then initiating a gaming session. The player may
initially insert monetary bills or previously printed tickets with a
credit value into the bill acceptor 37. The player may also put coins
into a coin acceptor (not shown) or a credit card into a card
reader/authorizer (not shown). The credit meter 27 displays the numeric
credit value of the money inserted dependent on the denomination of the
gaming device 10. That is, if the gaming device 10 is a nickel slot
machine and a $20 bill inserted into the bill acceptor 37, the credit
meter will reflect 400 credits or one credit for each nickel of the
inserted twenty dollars. For gaming devices 10 that support multiple
denominations, the credit meter 27 will reflect the amount of credits
relative to the denomination selected. Thus, in the above example, if a
penny denomination is selected after the $20 is inserted the credit meter
will change from 400 credits to 2000 credits.

[0029]A wager may be placed by pushing one or more of the game buttons 32,
which may be reflected on the bet meter 28. That is, the player can
generally depress a "bet one" button (one of the buttons on the player
interface panel 30, such as 32), which transfers one credit from the
credit meter 27 to the bet meter 28. Each time the button 32 is depressed
an additional single credit transfers to the bet meter 28 up to a maximum
bet that can be placed on a single play of the electronic gaming device
10. The gaming session may be initiated by pulling the gaming handle 12
or depressing the spin button 33. On some gaming devices 10, a "max bet"
button (another one of the buttons 32 on the player interface panel 30)
may be depressed to wager the maximum number of credits supported by the
gaming device 10 and initiate a gaming session.

[0030]If the gaming session does not result in any winning combination,
the process of placing a wager may be repeated by the player.
Alternatively, the player may cash out any remaining credits on the
credit meter 27 by depressing the "cash-out" button (another button 32 on
the player interface panel 30), which causes the credits on the credit
meter 27 to be paid out in the form of a ticket through the ticket
printer 38, or may be paid out in the form of returning coins from a coin
hopper (not shown) to a coin return tray.

[0031]If instead a winning combination (win) appears on the display 20,
the award corresponding to the winning combination is immediately applied
to the credit meter 27. For example, if the gaming device 10 is a slot
machine, a winning combination of symbols 23 may land on a played payline
on reels 22. If any bonus games are initiated, the gaming device 10 may
enter into a bonus mode or simply award the player with a bonus amount of
credits that are applied to the credit meter 27.

[0033]Referring to FIG. 2A, a spinning-reel gaming machine 10A includes a
gaming display 20A having a plurality of mechanical spinning reels 22A.
Typically, spinning-reel gaming machines 10A have three to five spinning
reels 22A. Each of the spinning reels 22A has multiple symbols 23A that
may be separated by blank areas on the spinning reels 22A, although the
presence of blank areas typically depends on the number of reels 22A
present in the gaming device 10A and the number of different symbols 23A
that may appear on the spinning reels 22A. Each of the symbols 22A or
blank areas makes up a "stop" on the spinning reel 22A where the reel 22A
comes to rest after a spin. Although the spinning reels 22A of various
games 10A may have various numbers of stops, many conventional
spinning-reel gaming devices 10A have reels 22A with twenty two stops.

[0034]During game play, the spinning reels 22A may be controlled by
stepper motors (not shown) under the direction of the microprocessor 40
(FIG. 1A). Thus, although the spinning-reel gaming device 10A has
mechanical based spinning reels 22A, the movement of the reels themselves
is electronically controlled to spin and stop. This electronic control is
advantageous because it allows a virtual reel strip to be stored in the
memory 41 of the gaming device 10A, where various "virtual stops" are
mapped to each physical stop on the physical reel 22A. This mapping
allows the gaming device 10A to establish greater awards and bonuses
available to the player because of the increased number of possible
combinations afforded by the virtual reel strips.

[0035]A gaming session on a spinning reel slot machine 10A typically
includes the player pressing the "bet-one" button (one of the game
buttons 32A) to wager a desired number of credits followed by pulling the
gaming handle 12 (FIGS. 1A, 1B) or pressing the spin button 33A to spin
the reels 22A. Alternatively, the player may simply press the "max-bet"
button (another one of the game buttons 32A) to both wager the maximum
number of credits permitted and initiate the spinning of the reels 22A.
The spinning reels 22A may all stop at the same time or may individually
stop one after another (typically from left to right) to build player
anticipation. Because the display 20A usually cannot be physically
modified, some spinning reel slot machines 10A include an electronic
display screen in the top box 18 (FIG. 1B), a mechanical bonus mechanism
in the top box 18, or a secondary display 25 (FIG. 1A) to execute a
bonus.

[0036]Referring to FIG. 2B, a video gaming machine 10B may include a video
display 20B to display virtual spinning reels 22B and various other
gaming information 21B. The video display 20B may be a CRT, LCD, plasma
screen, or the like. It is usually preferable that the video display 20B
be a touchscreen to accept player input. A number of symbols 23A appear
on each of the virtual spinning reels 22B. Although FIG. 2B shows five
virtual spinning reels 22B, the flexibility of the video display 20B
allows for various reel 22B and game configurations. For example, some
video slot games 10B spin reels for each individual symbol position (or
stop) that appears on the video display 20B. That is, each symbol
position on the screen is independent of every other position during the
gaming sessions. In these types of games, very large numbers of pay lines
or multiple super scatter pays can be utilized since similar symbols
could appear at every symbol position on the video display 20B. On the
other hand, other video slot games 10B more closely resemble the
mechanical spinning reel games where symbols that are vertically adjacent
to each other are part of the same continuous virtual spinning reel 22B.

[0037]Because the virtual spinning reels 22B, by virtue of being computer
implemented, can have almost any number of stops on a reel strip, it is
much easier to have a greater variety of displayed outcomes as compared
to spinning-reel slot machines 10A (FIG. 2A) that have a fixed number of
physical stops on each spinning reel 22A.

[0038]With the possible increases in reel 22B numbers and configurations
over the mechanical gaming device 10A, video gaming devices 10B often
have multiple paylines 24 that may be played. By having more paylines 24
available to play, the player may be more likely to have a winning
combination when the reels 22B stop and the gaming session ends. However,
since the player typically must wager at least a minimum number of
credits to enable each payline 24 to be eligible for winning, the overall
odds of winning are not much different, if at all, than if the player is
wagering only on a single payline. For example, in a five line game, the
player may bet one credit per payline 24 and be eligible for winning
symbol combinations that appear on any of the five played paylines 24.
This gives a total of five credits wagered and five possible winning
paylines 24. If, on the other hand, the player only wagers one credit on
one payline 24, but plays five gaming sessions, the odds of winning would
be identical as above: five credits wagered and five possible winning
paylines 24.

[0039]Because the video display 20B can easily modify the image output by
the video display 20B, bonuses, such as second screen bonuses are
relatively easy to award on the video slot game 10B. That is, if a bonus
is triggered during game play, the video display 20B may simply store the
resulting screen shot in memory and display a bonus sequence on the video
display 20B. After the bonus sequence is completed, the video display 20B
may then retrieve the previous screen shot and information from memory,
and re-display that image.

[0040]Also, as mentioned above, the video display 20B may allow various
other game information 21B to be displayed. For example, as shown in FIG.
2B, banner information may be displayed above the spinning reels 22B to
inform the player, perhaps, which symbol combination is needed to trigger
a bonus. Also, instead of providing a separate credit meter 27 (FIG. 1A)
and bet meter 28, the same information can instead be displayed on the
video display 20B. In addition, "soft buttons" 29B such as a "spin"
button or "help/see pays" button may be built using the touch screen
video display 20B. Such customization and ease of changing the image
shown on the display 20B adds to the flexibility of the game 10B.

[0041]Even with the improved flexibility afforded by the video display
20B, several physical buttons 32B and 33B are usually provided on video
slot machines 10B. These buttons may include game buttons 32B that allow
a player to choose the number of paylines 24 he or she would like to play
and the number of credits wagered on each payline 24. In addition, a max
bet button (one of the game buttons 32B) allows a player to place a
maximum credit wager on the maximum number of available paylines 24 and
initiate a gaming session. A repeat bet or spin button 33B may also be
used to initiate each gaming session when the max bet button is not used.

[0042]Referring to FIG. 2C, a video poker gaming device 10C may include a
video display 20C that is physically similar to the video display 20B
shown in FIG. 2B. The video display 20C may show a poker hand of five
cards 23C and various other player information 21C including a paytable
for various winning hands, as well as a plurality of player selectable
soft buttons 29C. The video display 20C may present a poker hand of five
cards 23C and various other player information 21C including a number of
player selectable soft (touch-screen) buttons 29C and a paytable for
various winning hands. Although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3C
shows only one hand of poker on the video display 20C, various other
video poker machines 10C may show several poker hands (multi-hand poker).
Typically, video poker machines 10C play "draw" poker in which a player
is dealt a hand of five cards, has the opportunity to hold any
combination of those five cards, and then draws new cards to replace the
discarded ones. All pays are usually given for winning combinations
resulting from the final hand, although some video poker games 10C may
give bonus credits for certain combinations received on the first hand
before the draw. In the example shown in FIG. 2C a player has been dealt
two aces, a three, a six, and a nine. The video poker game 10C may
provide a bonus or payout for the player having been dealt the pair of
aces, even before the player decides what to discard in the draw. Since
pairs, three of a kind, etc. are typically needed for wins, a player
would likely hold the two aces that have been dealt and draw three cards
to replace the three, six, and nine in the hope of receiving additional
aces or other cards leading to a winning combination with a higher award
amount. After the draw and revealing of the final hand, the video poker
game 10C typically awards any credits won to the credit meter.

[0043]The player selectable soft buttons 29C appearing on the screen
respectively correspond to each card on the video display 20C. These soft
buttons 29C allow players to select specific cards on the video display
20C such that the card corresponding to the selected soft button is
"held" before the draw. Typically, video poker machines 10C also include
physical game buttons 32C that correspond to the cards in the hand and
may be selected to hold a corresponding card. A deal/draw button 33C may
also be included to initiate a gaming session after credits have been
wagered (with a bet button 32C, for example) and to draw any cards not
held after the first hand is displayed.

[0044]Although examples of a spinning reel slot machine 10A, a video slot
machine 10B, and a video poker machine 10C have been illustrated in FIGS.
2A-2C, gaming machines various other types of gaming devices known in the
art are contemplated and are within the scope of the invention.

[0045]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating networked gaming devices
according to embodiments of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, multiple
electronic gaming devices (EGMs) 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75 may be
coupled to one another and coupled to a remote gaming server 80 through a
network 50. For ease of understanding, gaming devices or EGMs 70, 71, 72,
73, 74, and 75 are generically referred to as EGMs 70-75. The term EGMs
70-75, however, may refer to any combination of one or more of EGMs 70,
71, 72, 73, 74, and 75. Additionally, the server 80 may be coupled to one
or more gaming databases 90. These gaming network 50 connections may
allow multiple gaming devices 70-75 to remain in communication with one
another during particular gaming modes such as tournament play or remote
head-to-head play. Although some of the gaming devices 70-75 coupled on
the gaming network 50 may resemble the gaming devices 10, 10A, 10B, and
10C shown in FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A-2C, other coupled gaming devices 70-75
may include differently configured gaming devices. For example, the
gaming devices 70-75 may include traditional slot machines 75 directly
coupled to the network 50, banks of gaming devices 70 coupled to the
network 50, banks of gaming devices 70 coupled to the network through a
bank controller 60, wireless handheld gaming machines 72 and cell phones
73 coupled to the gaming network 50 through one or more wireless routers
or antennas 61, personal computers 74 coupled to the network 50 through
the internet 62, and banks of gaming devices 71 coupled to the network
through one or more optical connection lines 64. Additionally, some of
the traditional gaming devices 70, 71, and 75 may include electronic
gaming tables, multi-station gaming devices, or electronic components
operating in conjunction with non-gaming components, such as automatic
card readers, chip readers, and chip counters, for example.

[0046]Gaming devices 71 coupled over an optical line 64 may be remote
gaming devices in a different location or casino. The optical line 64 may
be coupled to the gaming network 50 through an electronic to optical
signal converter 63 and may be coupled to the gaming devices 71 through
an optical to electronic signal converter 65. The banks of gaming devices
70 coupled to the network 50 may be coupled through a bank controller 60
for compatibility purposes, for local organization and control, or for
signal buffering purposes. The network 50 may include serial or parallel
signal transmission lines and carry data in accordance with data transfer
protocols such as Ethernet transmission lines, firewire lines, USB lines,
or other communication protocols. Although not shown in FIG. 3,
substantially the entire network 50 may be made of optical lines 64 or
may be a wireless network.

[0047]As mentioned above, each gaming device 70-75 may have an individual
processor 40 (FIG. 1A) and memory 41 to run and control game play on the
gaming device 70-75, or some of the gaming devices 70-75 may be terminals
that are run by a remote server 80 in a server based gaming environment.
Server based gaming environments may be advantageous to casinos by
allowing fast downloading of particular game types or themes based on
casino preference or player selection. Additionally, tournament based
games, linked games, and certain game types, such as BINGO or keno may
benefit from at least some server 80 based control.

[0048]Thus, in some embodiments, the network 50, server 80, and database
90 may be dedicated to communications regarding specific game or
tournament play. In other embodiments, however, the network 50, server
80, and database 90 may be part of a player tracking network. For player
tracking capabilities, when a player inserts a player tracking card in
the card reader 46 (FIG. 1A), the player tracking unit 45 sends player
identification information obtained on the card reader 46 through the MCI
42 over the network 50 to the player tracking server 80, where the player
identification information is compared to player information records on
in the player database 90 to provide the player with information
regarding their player accounts or other features at the gaming device 10
where the player is wagering. Additionally, multiple databases 90 and/or
servers 80 may be present and coupled to one or more networks 50 to
provide a variety of gaming services, such as both game/tournament data
and player tracking data.

[0049]The various systems described with reference to FIGS. 1-3 can be
used in a number of ways. For instance, the systems can be used to track
data about various players. The tracked data can be used by the casino to
provide additional benefits to players, such as extra bonuses or extra
benefits such as bonus games and other benefits as described above. These
added benefits further entice the players to play at the casino that
provides the benefits.

[0050]As described above, one way to track data about various players is
to identify a player prior to a gaming session, and attribute gameplay
during the session to that player. To identify a player, the player
inserts his or her player identification card into the identification
device 46 of FIG. 1A and begins playing. Gameplay is attributed to the
player (i.e., stored in the database 90 of FIG. 3) as he or she plays.
After the player has finished playing, the player removes the card from
the gaming device 10.

[0051]There is a problem, however, in players forgetting to take their
cards after they have finished playing. Later players may remove these
cards (so that they may insert their own cards) and throw the removed
card away. Casino employees may also remove cards from unattended games
and store them to be returned to the proper player. Re-issuing lost cards
to players is time consuming and frustrating. Embodiments of the
invention capitalize on the fact that players almost never leave a game
when there are credits still on the meter. Instead, a player will
naturally play until all of the credits are either wagered or until the
player cashes out. Therefore, embodiments of the invention, differently
than as described above, attribute gameplay to a player if they are
identified any time between when credits are established on the machine
to when the credits are removed, either by gameplay or cashout.

[0052]Game machine credit can be established in a number of ways, as is
known. Modern gaming machines are all equipped with currency or bill
acceptors 37, through which players can register a relatively large
number of gambling credits at once. For example, insertion of a $100 bill
in a quarter machine provides 400 credits.

[0053]If the player identity is registered when credits are deposited, or
while credits remain on the game, it is safe to presume the player's
identity remains the same until that credit balance drops to zero. By
this method, a player who inserts his/her identification instrument at
the time of credit deposit, or while a positive credit balance is on the
machine, then immediately removes the identification instrument and puts
it in a safe place such as their pocket gets credit for the entire
session, even though the card was removed before the end of the session.
In other words, for so long as the credit balance remains positive, the
identified player is presumed to be the player by the player tracking
system and for purposes of accomplishing triggers and receiving and
utilizing bonus awards.

[0054]Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4A, which illustrates a
timeline and various actions of the player at a gaming device 10. In that
figure, a player inserts an identification card at a time 202 and
establishes an identity with the gaming device 10 and/or the server 80
through the network 50 of FIG. 3. At a time 204 the player removes the
card. Gameplay begins at time 206, which means credit has been
established on the gaming device 10 and the player is actively playing
the game on the gaming device. At a time 208 the player cashes out, which
simultaneously ends gameplay. Embodiments of the invention credit all of
the gameplay time, that is the gameplay between times 206 and 208 to the
identified player, even though the player had already removed the player
identification card at the time 204.

[0055]In another embodiment, if the player tracking system detects
gameplay at gaming device 10 with an unidentified player (for instance no
player card is inserted), the system can, for example over the gaming
network 50, display an invitation message on the display 20 (FIG. 2). In
one example, the message may inform the unidentified player that she
could receive substantial benefit for signing up for a player account. It
may be that the player accidentally forgot to insert her card, in which
case inserting the card would attribute the appropriate gameplay to her
player account. In other scenarios, the gaming device 10 may display a
coded message or invite the player to print a printed invitation through
the ticket printer 38. The code or printed invitation can identify the
gaming session such that, when the player signs up for a player account
by presenting the code or invitation to the casino, the proper gameplay
can be attributed to the player, even though the gameplay has already
completed. In another embodiment, the invitation message may include a
facility for accepting player identification information such that the
player could sign up for an account through the gaming device 10 itself.

[0056]Game machine credit may also be established by transferring value to
the game, such as by transfers from a casino credit account, a bank
account, cashout tickets, or other account sources. Embodiments of the
invention use identity information associated with the account as player
identification information. For instance, with reference to FIG. 5, if
"Player A" transfers value from her casino credit account 110 to a game
70 over the network 50, embodiments of the invention automatically
attribute gameplay during the session started by that transfer to Player
A. Thus, the gameplay credit is added to Player A's account on the
database 90. This occurs automatically without any extra input from
Player A. Similarly, if the transfer is from a bank account 120, for
example over the internet 62, and the account holder also has a player
account, the account holder is credited with the gameplay for that
session. Cashout tickets may include player identification information,
and, if so, a session started by the insertion of a cashout ticket is
associated with the correct player.

[0057]Such embodiments are illustrated in FIG. 4B. At a time 210, the
player transfers credits to a gaming device 10 from a casino credit
account 110, bank account 120, or other credit account 130 (FIG. 5). The
account information is indexed against player accounts stored in the
database 90 (FIG. 3) to correctly identify the player. Gameplay begins at
time 212 and ends at time 214 by the credits going to zero. Credit for
the gameplay between the times 212 and 214 is automatically credited to
the correct player account, even though the player never entered a player
card into the gaming device 10.

[0058]This technique allows the use of new identification instruments,
such as an RFID device, which could be worn as a ring or embedded in a
card or other device. So long as the identifier is in close enough
proximity to be read at least once, for example by the identification
device 46 (FIG. 1A), when an appropriate credit balance is held on the
gaming machine, the identified person is presumed to be the player. For
example, a player could wear a ring, watch or bracelet with an embedded
RFID device. With appropriate RFID readers as the identification device
46, the identifier could be read without the player having to actually
insert the identifier into any sort of reader.

[0059]In embodiments of the invention such as the ones described above, an
identification transaction may have a much shorter duration than a
duration of the gameplay session. In other words, a player need only be
identified at some time during the duration of gameplay to be identified
for the entire session. In some identification procedures, such as the
RFID example above, the player may be asked to verify his or her identity
in some way, such as by entering a PIN or other identifier to receive
bonuses, awards, points, etc.

[0060]Many automobiles today utilize keyless ignition systems in which an
electronic key is simply carried in a pocket. So long as the device is in
proximity to the car, the automobile can be started. The same technology
can be used with gaming machines or purposes of player tracking. One of
skill in the art recognizes there are many types of identifiers,
including standard magnetic stripe cards which can be used to advantage.

[0061]Other identification instruments include a keypad entry, for example
an identification and/or a PIN number. Still other identification data
could be used, for example, by having a player swipe a credit card or
debit card, which store name identification on a magnetic strip, even if
no value is transferred from the card accounts to the machine. Further, a
video display may ask a player to enter contact or non-contact
information, such as a unique email address, or a room number where the
player is staying in the hotel casino. Still further, a player may be
requested to swipe a room card, which can be associated with a casino
hotel records to determine a player's identity.

[0062]Other embodiments could employ a proximity sensor 48 installed on
the player tracking system 45, or in or around the game, to determine the
physical presence of a player. Similar to the system described above, if
the proximity sensor 48 senses a player at a gaming device 10, all
gameplay during the time the sensor recognizes that the player is at the
game will be attributed to the player. This can be used in conjunction
with or separate to the positive credit method of determining a gaming
session.

[0063]The end of a gameplay session need not necessarily occur exactly
when the game credits reach zero. First, the gameplay session could be
determined to end when the game credits are between zero and the lowest
denomination of the gaming device 10. For instance, by transferring in
credits from a previously cashed-out ticket, a player may transfer an
uneven amount. For example, assume that a player was playing at a penny
game and cashed out $4.17. Then the player moved to a quarter denominated
game, and used the ticket to establish credits. Then the player used all
the possible credits, but $0.17 still appears on the credit meter 27 of
the gaming device 10. Because there is not enough value on the gaming
device 10 for another credit (which would cost $0.25), the player may
simply walk away leaving credit on the credit meter 27. Embodiments of
the invention can determine that the gameplay has ended in such a
situation, even though credits still appear on the credit meter 27,
because the value on the credit meter does not exceed the minimum
denomination threshold for the gaming device 10.

[0064]In other embodiments, the player can be allowed to drop all the way
to a zero credit balance on the gaming machine for a time period, for
example "x" seconds, before she is presumed to have left the machine. For
example, a player inserts a $20 bill into a gaming machine and is
appropriately identified. The player spends all $20 in the game and the
game reaches a zero balance. The player opens her pocketbook, removes
another $20 and inserts that into the game. So long as the new credits
are deposited within the defined time limit, for example, 120 seconds,
the identity of the player of the current (second) session is presumed to
be the same as the identity of the player of the previous (first)
session.

[0065]Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4C. In that scenario, a
player begins unidentified gameplay at a time 230. Between the times 232
and 234, a player is identified by the gaming device, such as by the
player inserting a player card or through another method such as RFID
identification described above. At a time 236, the credits go to zero,
but the player is still interested in playing the gaming device 10. At a
time 238, additional credits are added to the gaming device 10, such as
by adding more currency to the bill acceptor 37 of FIG. 1. The time
period between times 236 and 238 does not exceed the threshold time for a
player identification reset, such as 120 seconds. In other words, in the
example shown in FIG. 4C, the time period between times 236 and 238 is
less than 120 seconds. At time 240 the credits go to zero and the player
walks away from the game. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4C, all
of the gameplay credit between times 230 and 240 is credited to the
player, even though no player was identified at time 230, when gameplay
began, and there was a period of time, between times 236 and 238, where
there were no credits on the game meter 27 (FIG. 1).

[0066]Another embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4D, which highlights the
automatic time expiration. In that Figure, a player inserts a player ID
card at a time 250 and plays the game between times 252 and 254. The
player then walks away from the gaming device 10 but forgets to remove
his or her player ID card. At a time 256 a new player begins playing the
gaming device 10 with the old players ID card still inserted into the
gaming device. At time 258 the second player walks away from the machine
when the credits go to zero. Some time later, at a time 260, a casino
employee notices that there is a player ID card in a vacant gaming device
10, and removes the card. Embodiments of the invention correctly
determine that the gameplay between times 252 and 254 should be
attributed to the first player. However, because the time period between
times 254 and 256 exceeded the time threshold, i.e., the gameplay between
times 256 and 258 should not, and indeed, is not, attributed to the first
player.

[0067]In further embodiments, the second player in the example of FIG. 4D
could notice, sometime during the gameplay 256 and 258 that another
player's ID card is in the gaming device 10. By calling over a casino
employee, gameplay for the second player, that is gameplay between the
times 256 and 258 could be properly attributed to the second player,
either by establishing a new player account for the second player, or by
associating the gameplay that began at time 256 to the second players
existing player account. Still further, if the second player already has
a player account, the act of removing the forgotten card and inserting
his or her own card will cause the second player to receive the proper
gameplay attribution, without casino personnel involvement. For instance,
with reference to FIG. 4D, if the second player removes the forgotten
card and inserts his or her own at a time between 256 and 258, then the
gameplay between times 256 and 258 is attributed to the second player.

[0068]The accuracy of such a system can be enhanced by using additional
information from the proximity sensor 48. Thus, if the proximity sensor
data indicated that a person was continuously at the gaming device 10
during the time the credits were zero, the subsequent session would be
automatically attributed to the original player. If the proximity sensor
data indicated that the first player walked away from the machine, the
new session would not be attributed to the first player, even if a new
player inserted credits into the machine during the 120 second interval.
Similarly, if a new player identification was determined during the
waiting period, such as a new player card being inserted into the game,
the new session would, of course, be attributed to the new player and not
the old player.

[0069]Likewise, identifying a player need not necessarily occur during the
time credits are on the machine, but a player may be identified prior to
credits being deposited. For example, if a player enters and removes his
player tracking card, then, after a short period of time, puts credits on
the game meter, the session that began with those credits are attributed
to the player who inserted and removed his card. The accuracy of this
system, too, can be enhanced by using proximity sensor data as described
above.

[0070]In some embodiments, an audio or visual display can let the player
know that they have been properly identified by the player tracking
system for the current gameplay session, and if their session has
expired.

[0071]With reference back to FIG. 5, an example attribution system 82 is
illustrated that operates in the player tracking system in conjunction
with the remote server 80 and database 90. As described above with
reference to FIG. 3, the remote server 80 and database 90 may form all or
a portion of a player tracking system. The player attribution system 82
is coupled to the remote server 80 and implements the player attribution
functions of the player tracking system as described above and below.
Although FIG. 5 illustrates the player attribution system 82 as being
attached to the remote server 80, the attribution system 82 may actually
be a part of the remote server 80 itself. In this sense, the attribution
system 82 may be separate hardware and/or software installed with the
remote server 80, or hardware and/or software coupled to the remote
server. The attribution system 82 may be implemented as a part of the
remote server 80 itself, with no clear delineation of resources
specifically allocated to the attribution system 82 that are separate
from the remote server. Alternatively, although not illustrated in FIG.
5, the attribution system 82 may be directly attached to the database 90
instead of the server 80, and may communicate to the remote server 80
only through the database 90, instead of having direct communication.

[0072]In operation, the attribution system 82 detects or receives signals
and/or data from gaming devices 10 over the gaming network 50. It can
also generate and send data and/or signals to the gaming devices 10. It
additionally can retrieve or store information into the database 90,
either directly or through the remote server 80. The attribution system
82 may store data from the gaming device 10 on the database 90 both
before and after the player identity is known. In other words, the
attribution system 82 may store all of the gameplay data from a
particular gaming device 10, even when the player is not identified.
Later, when the player is identified, the attribution system "credits"
the appropriate player account by writing the appropriate data in the
database 90 or through the remote server 80.

[0073]The attribution system 82 additionally includes various timers and
other subsystems for determining when to attribute gameplay to various
identified players. It further includes facilities for generating scripts
to be displayed to a player of the gaming device 10. Such scripts can be
generated for each player, or could be standard scripts with or without
customization. Example scripts are described with reference to FIGS. 6A,
6B, and 6C below.

[0074]FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate some example scripted scenarios that
help explain how the casino can communicate to the player that the
gameplay is being attributed to the proper account. With reference to
FIG. 6A, an example display screen 102 is illustrated. The display
screens of FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C may be displayed anywhere on the gaming
device 10 (FIG. 1) to communicate with the player, for example on the
gaming display 20, player identification portion 21 of the gaming display
(FIGS. 2B, 2C), or on the player tracking unit 45. The display screen 102
of FIG. 6A shows a message to the player that they have been identified
to the gaming device 10 and the gameplay is being attributed to the
proper account. For example, a field 106 indicates a name of the player,
which has been retrieved from the database 90 of the playing tracking
system when the player inserted his or her card or was otherwise
identified as described above. Fields 104 and 108 may be filled by the
casino to personalize the message, or other message text or graphics can
be provided. Display screen 102 also includes a touchscreen button 110,
or other facility, for the player to indicate that he or she is not the
currently identified player. Touching the touchscreen button 110 causes
the gaming device 10 to disassociate the presently associated player,
currently Elizabeth, from the present gaming session. Then, the new
player (not Elizabeth) can identify himself or herself to the gaming
device 10, by, for instance, inserting their own player card, or call an
attendant over for help.

[0075]FIG. 6B illustrates a scenario where the player, here Mike, has
identified himself to the gaming device 10 but has not yet started
playing. A display screen 120 identifies the player in the field 106, and
includes the other fields 104, 108 and the button 110 described above.
Because Mike has not yet started playing, display screen 120 includes a
message that encourages Mike to begin playing. In this example, a
countdown box 122 is displayed, which informs the player that he or she
has 30 seconds to insert credit to the machine and begin playing. The
countdown box 122 will count down, for instance in real time, until it
reaches zero. If Mike begins playing before the countdown box 122 reaches
zero, the display screen 120 may change to the display screen 102
described in FIG. 6A above, and gameplay is properly attributed to Mike.
If instead Mike does not begin playing before the countdown box 122
reaches zero, Mike's player identification is disassociated with gaming
device 10. In other words, the gaming device 10 reverts back to an
un-identified player, as described with reference to FIG. 6C below. An
extend button 124 may be presented to the player to extend the time to
begin a gameplay session and still be associated with the gaming session.
For example, if Mike is taking a phone call, but still wishes to play the
gaming device 10 on which he is already identified, Mike can press the
extend button 124 to extend the time shown in the countdown box 122.

[0076]FIG. 6C illustrates another display screen 130, in this case to
communicate to a player that the player is unidentified. The display
screen 130 includes the same fields 104 and 108 as the display screens
102 and 120, described above. Because the player is unidentified, field
106 includes a generic name, such as "player." Two touchscreen buttons
132, 134 appear on the display screen 130. The button 132, when pressed,
allows the player to sign up for a player account directly on the gaming
device 10. If the player touches the button 132, a sign-up screen is
displayed on the gaming device 10 where the player can sign up for a new
account. Instead, if the player does not feel comfortable signing up for
a player account unassisted, the player can touch the button 134 to call
a casino employee to come assist the player to sign up for an account.

[0077]Any of the display screens 102, 120, 130 may be different colors or
be sequenced with different audio signals through the speaker 26 (FIG. 1)
depending on their status. For example, with an identified player as with
the display screen 102, the screen 102 may have a green background color.
The unidentified display screen 130 may instead be red. The countdown
display screen 120 may begin green, or perhaps a lighter shade of green
than the screen 102, and trend toward red as the countdown box 122 nears
zero. Audio signals may accompany any or all of these screens through the
speaker 26 of the gaming device 10. For example, an audio "beep" may
sound, once each second, when the countdown box 122 is under 10 seconds.

[0078]Embodiments of the invention can help casinos sign members up for
player accounts. In such a system, if a casino employee notices a player
playing at a game and, by inspecting the audio or visual display
determines that the player is not identified, the employee can approach
the player with an identification application. Once the player is signed
up and given a player account, all of the gameplay, even that gameplay
that was performed before the player had a player account can be
attributed to the player.

[0079]Using embodiments of the invention, gameplay data is temporarily
stored for a period of time, even if no player account is associated with
the gameplay before the gameplay begins. For instance, If Player B
initiates gameplay by inserting $200 in cash into the machine (800
credits at a quarter machine), and plays down to 50 credits before Player
B realizes that he forgot to enter his player tracking card, gameplay
data that was stored beginning when the credit balance went positive can
be attributed to Player B when he inserts his player tracking card or is
otherwise identified.

[0080]Some embodiments of the invention have been described above, and in
addition, some specific details are shown for purposes of illustrating
the inventive principles. However, numerous other arrangements may be
devised in accordance with the inventive principles of this patent
disclosure. Thus, while the invention is described in conjunction with
the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings, it is not limited
to these embodiments or drawings. Rather, the invention is intended to
cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that come within the
scope and spirit of the inventive principles set out in the appended
claims. Further, well known processes have not been described in detail
in order not to obscure the invention. Thus, the inventive principles are
not limited to the specific details disclosed herein.